First round of group play wrapped up in horny South Africa with a mix of the expected, the predictable and the surprising. The expected included dominance from Germany and Holland, the predictable was a trademark Cristiano Ronaldo dive for Portugal and the surprises came in the form of upsets. Switzerland provided a bombshell with a gritty defensive performance versus favored Spain, while Ghana defeated Serbia to provide the only victory for the host continent. Argentina hammered 20 shots in a 1-0 win while the ever-efficient Japanese needed just 3 shots to win by the same. A number of teams slumbered to a slow start, with African squads leading the way of the hapless by scoring just two goals (one a PK) in 6 matches. Brazil disappointed despite winning and although Portugal and Italy avoided losses, they were as flat as 2 day old soda.
Team America drew versus England thanks to the heroics of keeper Tim Howard and the tomfoolery of his Limey counterpart. Slovenia jumped to the front of the group, upping the ante ahead of the Friday match-up with Team America.
Tournament officials passed on the opportunity to ban the vu-vu horns, something I was indifferent about until I woke with the noise in my head at 3am- in bed with no television. The other casualty of the din is the noise of the crowd. Even though the foreign lyrics are unintelligible, the rhythmic chants and songs add more ambiance than the steady buzz of the horns. Looks like we’re stuck with the most annoying background since the death of the sitcom laugh-track. Someone needs to tell FIFA that these aren’t the drones they’re looking for.
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